Massenet: Le Mage
Label: EDS Catalog: ES1013 Format: CD Choeur lyrique et Orchestre symphonique Saint-Étienne Loire; Laurent Campellone, directionIn 1891, the elusive Jules Massenet once again dumbfounded the critics. After the success of Manon (1884), he had been expected to return to the subtleties of the opéracomique genre, but instead he revived the Romantic grand opera, as exemplified by his Hérodiade and Le Roi de Lahore. With its exotic setting (an imaginary Persia), supernatural elements, and love sublimated by religion, Le Mage is a composite and varied work, but above all one that represents the apotheosis of French lyricism at the time of the quarrels over the works of Wagner. Price: $54.98 |